Imagine yourself, Easter weekend, enjoying family and it's warm enough for ice cream (I live in Michigan, so this is dreamy when it happens)... THIS carrot ice cream is what you're craving. It's a cross between straight up carrots and carrot cake, it's so yummy!
Plus it offers a ½ cup of veggies per serving, is dairy free (because it's made with coconut milk, rather than heavy cream) and you get a tinge of nutrition and a healthy dose of sugar because it's made with honey.
The Simple Steps to Make Carrot Ice Cream
Like most of my favorite recipes, this one is fairly simple and doesn't require any strange ingredients.
I actually tried this recipe with carrot juice as well and it worked decent, although the texture was a bit more firm, the flavor was really bright! However, I wanted to get some fiber in, so real carrots is where I landed. Feel free to experiment 🙂
Begin by steaming the carrots (rather than boiling to preserve the water soluble nutrients). Steam over medium-high heat until they're fork tender, about 10 minutes. This means you should be able to pierce them with a fork with minimal pressure.
Next I add them to my glass blender with the remaining ingredients. I use this blender and I simply can't say enough about it. Since it's glass I don't worry about hot ingredients. If yours is plastic, wait for the carrots to cool further before blending.
Next add all of the ingredients to the blender, and blend until smooth. Try to limit the taste testing of the bourbon:) Cool in the fridge for an hour or more, until the mixture is back to a chilled state.
Then pour the carrot mixture into your ice cream maker and follow their instructions, mine states to churn for 15-20 minutes. I've had my cuisnart ice cream maker for several years, it gets a fair amount of use in the summer time and works like a charm!
A trick of the trade - store your ice cream drum in the freezer so it's ready to go in a moments notice! This was a trick I learned from a patient of mine back in clinical nutrition. Loved it ever since!
Really, a Vegetable Ice Cream?
Yes, carrots are a great option to add to frozen desserts. Primarily because they're starch content is higher than say, romaine lettuce, this helps with both texture and sweetness.
Here are a few fun facts about carrots:
- They grow underground; so firm soil can result in misshapen carrots because they're fighting to get through it - fun fact, right? For nice shaped carrots till the soil well.
- They are a fall crop and you can "store" them underground and harvest as needed.
- They're most notably high in Vitamin A (Beta Carotene), Vitamin K and magnesium but the content varies based on the soil health.
- They're delicious roasted, here's a favorite recipe for roasted carrots. You should cover your carrots so that the interior and exterior warm and roast at the same time.
Booze helps keep this Ice Cream Seriously Creamy
No joke. I added bourbon to this to add both flavor and texture. First, its' flavors seem to meld well with carrots; it gives me that creamy, caramel kind of thing.
Second, it helps with texture. Just think about how you put a bottle of booze in the freezer, it never actually freezes. Bon Appetit does a good job of explaining how alcohol makes frozen treats super creamy. Try it sometime!
The Creamiest Carrot Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
- Chefs Knife
- Rubber Spatula
- Medium pot
- Spider Strainer
- Steamer Basket
- Measuring Spoons & Cups
- Storage Container
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk, 1 ⅔ cups
- ⅔ cup honey
- 2 cups whole carrots, washed, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, split into 2 equal portions
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Place the wash, peeled and chopped carrots in a steamer basket over medium -high heat for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are easily pierced with a fork. *
- Once fork tender allow the carrots to cool slightly then transfer them to a high powdered blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend until creamy, smooth. You do not want lumps remaining.
- Place the mixture in the fridge for 1 + hours to chill, mixture should be cool or cold.
- Set up your ice cream maker, and remove your frozen drum from the freezer.**
- Transfer the carrot mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions of your machine. Mine states 15-20 minutes. ***
- Transfer to a freeze safe, well sealed container. Chill for 4 + hours until frozen. Enjoy with a drizzle of honey and chopped pecans.
Notes
- This recipe also worked well with only ½ cup honey. So if you'd prefer a lower sugar option, the texture will be just right too.
Nutrition
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